“Today the nation is reeling from another mass shooting of police officers, this time in Baton Rouge. Burlington offers its condolences to the families and friends of the victims and sends thoughts of strength and hope to the injured. These attacks on police officers must stop. They are a strain of violence that will only prevent us from making progress as a nation toward peace and justice in the parts of our society where they are so urgently needed. President Obama got it right yesterday when he said that ‘We as a nation have to be clear that nothing justifies violence against law enforcement. Attacks on police are an attack on all of us and the rule of law that makes society possible.’

As our national political conventions begin, we are being tested as a country in a way that we have not been in decades. The terrible events of recent weeks make it clear that we have so much work to do at every level of government, and throughout society, on a range of issues concerning justice, public safety, and policing in our nation. In the months ahead we must work together with great urgency to resolve them.

However, there is also work we must do today, as we seek to deescalate the tensions that are driving us apart. We would do well to hew to the call for unity also issued by the President yesterday:

‘…regardless of race or political party, or profession; regardless of what organization you are a part of; everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country rather than divide it further. We don’t need inflammatory rhetoric. We don’t need careless accusations thrown around to score political points or advance an agenda. We need to temper our words and open our hearts. All of us... That’s what’s needed right now. And it’s up to all of us to make sure that we are part of the solution and not part of the problem.’”